Uprising (Alternate Earth Series, Book 2) (19 page)

“Of course,” I say, instantly intrigued to hear what someone as rough around the edges as Nina would consider a romantic gesture.

“I want to show him why I am the way I am,” she says, looking slightly uncomfortable confiding such a thing to me. “So I thought I would give him a tour of my life. I plan to take him to the places where something important happened to me and helped form who I am today.”

“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” I tell her sincerely. “It’s thoughtful. It’ll show Rafe that you want him to know the real you, and it’s something you thought of all by yourself. I say go for it, Nina. I don’t think you’ll regret it.”

Nina smiles shyly, which is a new look for her. I like it.

“Now all I need to do is pull him away from his patients for an evening,” she says, sounding like this might be more of a task than it should be. “I’ve never seen someone so obsessed with helping people. It’s great that he’s like that, but…it makes finding time to be alone with him more difficult.”

“I’m sure if you ask him nicely, he’ll take a night off. Have you given any thought to what you will say if he says the big ‘L’ word again?”

“I’ll tell him the truth. I’ll tell him that I love him, too, and I might not even wait for him to say it first.”

This brings a smile to my face. “That sounds like a better idea to me. It might even make up for the ‘respect you’ debacle.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Nina says, trying to play it off.

“Yeah, it kind of was, but what you have planned will more than make up for it, especially if you end it with an ‘I love you’.”

“But what if I’ve missed my chance?” Nina asks, wearing an expression that I’ve never seen on her face before: insecurity. “He might say no to going out with me.”

“He won’t say no,” I try to reassure her.

“You don’t know that. He’s been distant the last few days. He might not be interested in giving me a second chance.”

“Listen, this is Rafe we’re talking about. He isn’t going to say no.”

“Would you go with me?” Nina says, sounding a bit desperate for some back-up.

“You don’t expect me to ask him out on a date for you, do you?”

“No, I’ll do that. I just need some moral support in case he says no.”

“I’ll go, but I feel positive he won’t turn you down. Where is Rafe now?”

“He’s in the living room, talking with Zack and Chandler while he has a snack. I practically had to drag him out of the tent hospital in Rio. He’d been there since this morning. He wants me to take him to another hospital he heard about in Mexico after he eats.”

“He needs more than just a break, Nina,” I say, worried about how much Rafe is working. “He has to take some real time off, and I think this date night idea of yours is just the incentive he needs to want to do that.”

“If he takes it…” Nina says, her gaze sliding to the floor in self-doubt.

“I think he’ll jump at the chance.” I touch Nina’s arm to draw her attention. “Trust me. He will.”

Nina smiles, but I can still see how nervous she is.

“Give me a minute,” I tell her before making my way back to Mason’s side.

“I need to go downstairs with Nina for a little while,” I tell him and the others.

“Do you need my help with anything?” Mason asks.

“No. I’ve got this handled.”

“Ok. I’ll go back to the kitchen to see if I can help with supper while you’re busy.”

“I’m going to be in Beijing for the rest of the night,” Brand tells us. Involuntarily, I raise a questioning eyebrow. “It’s early morning there,” Brand goes on to explain. “I told Jai Lin I would help her with the video she’s planning to run after you get the footage of Ravan.”

“Well, thanks to my nifty James Bond gadget, I guess I’m ready to capture that video for the resistance. Josh, you’re my own personal Q.”

“Q?” Josh asks, a confused look on his face. “Is that supposed to be someone’s name? And who is James Bond?”

“Don’t tell me Ian Fleming didn’t live in his reality,” I beg.

“Sorry, never heard of him,” Josh says with a slight shrug.

“Well, trust me, James Bond wouldn’t have been such a super spy without Q giving him all his gadgets.”

“Man, I wish you had brought some of those movies with you,” Josh says. “I would have loved to watch a badass super spy.”

“Well, I guess you’ll just have to settle for me,” I say. I turn my attention back to Mason. “I’ll come to the kitchen when Nina and I are through.”

I turn to Nina and hold my hand out to her. She looks at it for a moment because she senses my true intent with the gesture. I don’t just need her to phase me down with her. I want her to know that I’m there to provide whatever encouragement she might need.

Nina takes my hand with a small smile gracing her face.

“You should do that more often,” I tell her.

“Do what?”

“Smile. It makes you look more approachable.”

“Which is why I rarely ever do it,” Nina confesses. “I’ve never wanted to be approachable until now.”

“Then just flash that million-dollar smile of yours at Rafe, and he’ll be putty in your hands.”

“I hope so,” Nina says before phasing us down to the living room.

When we get there, I hear Zack and Chandler laughing. Rafe is sitting with them and telling them a story. I’m a little too far away to hear what’s being said, but I don’t need to hear it. I’m just glad to see my friends having a good time in a world that has so few of them.

“Hey, Jess is back,” Zack says to the others, standing up to greet me with a proper hug and kiss on the cheek after I walk over to them. “We heard you had some excitement today.”

“I guess you could say that,” I say, taking a seat on the couch beside Chandler. Zack sits on the other side of me.

“Rafe…” Nina says tentatively as she stands beside his chair.

Rafe puts the bag of chips in his hands down on the coffee table in front of him and stands to face Nina.

“Is something wrong?” he asks worriedly.

Nina shakes her head, making her long hair bounce around her shoulders slightly. “No, nothing’s wrong. Could I have a word with you in private?”

“Of course,” Rafe says, ever the gentleman.

As the two of them walk over to the bay window in the room, Chandler leans over to me and whispers, “What’s going on?”

“Shh,” I say, watching the interaction between Rafe and Nina intently. “If things work out, you’ll know soon enough.”

Nina and Rafe stand in front of the window. The last ray of the sun’s light shines through, giving them both a soft glow. Nina glances in my direction, and I give her an encouraging smile and nod. I see her take a deep breath before looking back at Rafe and saying something to him. I’m too far away to hear what’s being said, but I watch Rafe’s expression closely to gauge his reaction to being asked out by Nina. When I see him narrow his eyes at her, I begin to worry he might actually turn down her request. After Nina stops talking, Rafe says something to her and starts to walk away, but Nina reaches out and grabs his arm to stop him. Rafe turns back around to face her. With a great deal of earnestness, she seems to plead with him, like she’s trying to convince him of something. After Nina stops talking, Rafe just stands there, silently staring at her. Finally, he speaks, and I see Nina’s shoulders visibly relax. She nods her head at whatever Rafe tells her, and a true smile of happiness stretches her lips. Nina replies to Rafe and leans up to give him a tentative kiss on the cheek.

I suddenly wish I had a camera to capture the surprised look on Rafe’s face. He says something to her before walking back over to where we are. Nina looks in my direction and winks, letting me know that everything has worked out as planned. She phases away while Rafe rejoins us.

“What was that all about?” Zack asks Rafe as he sits back down in his chair.

“I just got asked out on a date,” Rafe says, looking completely stunned by the unexpected turn of events.

“Did you now?” I say, failing miserably at acting surprised. “Then why do you look like you just got hit by a Mack truck?”

“Because I feel like I just did,” Rafe confesses. “I’d pretty much given up on her even being interested in me. I chalked it up to being God’s way of telling me we weren’t meant to be together.”

“So what do you do on a date during the Apocalypse?” Chandler asks musingly.

“I’m not completely sure,” Rafe admits. “She said she wanted to take me to some places. That’s about all I know.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter,” I tell him. “As long as you’re with a woman you care about and get to enjoy some quiet time with her, I think it’s a win-win situation. Where did she go?”

“She said she wanted to get ready. I guess I should at least put on some clean clothes,” Rafe says, standing.

“Have a good time,” I tell him. “And try to concentrate on her tonight, Rafe. Don’t worry about the world. It won’t stop revolving if you take one night off.”

“I’ll try to keep that in mind,” Rafe says with his trademark smile.

After Rafe leaves the room, I stand up.

“Where are you going?” Chandler asks me.

“I’m betting Nina might want some help getting ready for her big date with Rafe,” I tell him and Zack. “She might need some reinforcement.”

I make way up to the second floor where Nina’s room is. A few seconds after I knock on her door, it’s thrown open by a panicked Nina.

“I have absolutely nothing to wear!” she declares, leaving the door wide open for me to follow her into the room. When I do, I whistle at the pure chaos that welcomes me. It literally looks like it’s been hit by a tornado. Dresses, pants, shirts, and shoes lie scattered on the floor, furniture, and even lampshades.

“How did you make such a mess in less than five minute?” I ask her in true amazement.

“War Angel,” she says, like I should have known the answer. “I can’t find one single thing that looks nice. Everything is just too old-fashioned.”

“Well, you know, we did bring our world’s most famous fashion designer with us. I bet if you ask her nicely, JoJo will help us figure something out.”

“Where is she?”

“Down in the kitchen.”

Before I can say another word, Nina phases. A few seconds later, she returns with JoJo in tow.

“
Mon dieu
!” JoJo says, looking at the mess in the room. “I can see why you need my expertise, Nina.”

“Do you think you can use any of these things? I honestly haven’t bought a new dress since the seventies.” Nina says, unconsciously beginning to nibble on the nail of one index finger.

“Everything old can be made new again,” JoJo reassures her as she begins to sift through the dresses on the bed. “Ah ha! I can do something with this,
mon ami
.”

JoJo holds up a short cocktail dress of black lace over red silk. It has a full skirt that is gathered at the waist, a fitted bodice, and capped sleeves. A swath of sheer black material encircles the waistline.

“Really?” Nina asks doubtfully as she eyes the dress. “I haven’t worn that since the fifties.”

“
Oui
,” JoJo says with a confident nod. “Now, phase me up to my design room so I can work a miracle for you.”

Nina walks over to JoJo and phases her away. When she returns, she says, “What do you think I should do with my hair?”

“What do you normally do to it when you go out?” I ask.

“I can’t say I’ve been on many dates,” Nina confesses. “Practically none, actually.”

“Come on,” I say, clearing some shirts off the chair in front of Nina’s vanity. “I’m sure we can figure something out.”

Forty minutes later, we have Nina’s hair up in a loose bun, and her makeup perfectly applied.

“I don’t usually wear this stuff,” Nina says, tugging at the upper lashes of her right eye, like the mascara is personally attacking her.

“You look great,” I tell her, swatting her hand away from her eye before she does real damage. “Just don’t fidget like that while you’re with Rafe. It makes you look weird.”

“Do you think JoJo is through with the dress?”

“Well, she said she was going to work a miracle,” I say. “Let’s go see if she has.”

Nina phases us up to JoJo’s workroom, and we find Gabe there, ironing JoJo’s creation for Nina.

“Wow,” Nina says in true amazement, walking over to the table where Gabe is standing, “you really can work miracles, JoJo. It’s beautiful! And just my style. Thank you so much for doing this for me.”

“My pleasure,” JoJo says while she searches through a drawer at her workstation. “Ah! Found it!”

I look over at her and watch her pull out my bracelet.

“I’d almost forgotten about that,” I say, walking over to her. As I look at the bracelet I ripped off because it burned my wrist, I ask, “Where’s the red ribbon that was woven in between the links?”

“I cut it out,” JoJo tells me, opening the clasp and holding it out so she can wrap it around my wrist.

“Why?”

“Because that was the part designed to warn you of danger. Now, you will not have to worry about it burning you again. I suggest you simply assume everyone here is dangerous. At least you will still be able to use it to tell you what people are feeling.”